Sunday, January 22, 2006

Shelling Out Big Bucks for Summer Camp

Interesting article in today's NYT called It Pays to Have a Smart Child, But It Can Cost, Too. The substance is this: "There's lots of funding for kids who aren't keeping up in school," Dr. Ruf said, "but if you have a bright child you just get a pat on the head." She said she had seen "families at all economic levels prioritize their budgets to pay for testing, enrichment and learning opportunities." (Dr. Deborah L. Ruf, a psychologist who specializes in gifted kids, is the author of Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. She also has an excellent website.)

Coincidentally (or perhaps not so coincidentally), we've been wrestling with what to do with the boys this summer. Klaus was set to stay home and work at McDonald's until I found a nearby ID Tech Camp where you can learn to design video games. He'll be going for two weeks. Xavier wants to go, too, though because of his age, he'll only be going for one week.

We found a Safari Zoo Camp for Wolfie where he can learn falconry as well as zoo animal care, but it's in Toronto and DH says that's a little far to go. He will be going to a Zoo Career Day in May, but it's only a single day program. Wolfie is also considering a week at Japanese camp, but only if he can get someone to go with him.

Needless to say, we will not be taking a family vacation this summer!

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